Belonging
by kimmie bee
Summary: There was a tightness in my stomach and something weird was going on in my chest - I think my heart was fluttering. And then there was the sudden goosebumps that rose where ever Reid's hands touched my skin. Reid/OC. some language. read and review, and all that, hope you enjoy!
1. Prologue

The dream started the same way it had since the night he first had it.

Dreamy mist-like surroundings brought his attention to the person walking towards him. It was a girl, in his age, perfectly sculptured body and what he assumed was an equally perfect face. He didn't know; her lines were always a blur.

Her uncontrollable curls hung down her body in a stream of brown. It had so many different nuances it reminded him of autumn, when everything toned down and seemed to get brown and dull. Only the shine to her hair brought out the life he had come to connect to her.

As always, they stopped a few steps apart, string bluntly at each other. They always did.

For the past few months, Reid had had the same dream. He didn't know why, but he knew this girl meant something. Somehow she had managed to nestle her way into his thoughts and linger there like a memory to precious to forget. He just couldn't get her out of his mind.

Meeting her glittering amber eyes he knew he belonged with her. In his dreams she was just a perfect girl, meant for none other than himself, but something told him she was so much more than just that. If he'd ever meet her in real life, he'd know her instantly, even if the lines of her face were all a blur. He knew he'd recognize her, just by the sound of her voice, the outline of her mouth that he was sure he knew exactly where it was.

He had to brace himself to what he knew was coming next. He knew by heart what her words would be, and he didn't want to hear them again. He knew by now that he couldn't open his mouth to stop her from saying what she was going to; he'd tried that so many times he'd lost track of them. He couldn't do anything else than listen to her.

"You have to forget, Reid. This isn't reality; it's not a place for you." The bell-like chime in her voice was sad, and it didn't sound right. Even though this was the only time he'd ever met her, he remembered her to be connected with joy and happiness. Love even.

"I can't forget, you know that." The protest was strong in his voice, as it always was. "My place is with you, you can't change that." There was a seriousness and sadness to his voice that he'd probably never used before. The loss was there in his chest, as the girl turned her eyes and met his gaze.

"You have to try. You can't come here anymore. It wasn't real and both you and I know that." A soft breeze grabbed her long sleeveless black dress and made it flow gracefully around her body. The shorter hair around her face moved slowly in the same breeze, a link getting in her face.

He stepped closer to her, as always, and did the same thing he'd done probably a hundred other nights. His fingers graced her cheek as he softly stroke the curl behind her left ear. Her eyes closed the second of his touch, and he leaned in closer, their breaths mingling with each other, her lips gently parted.

"You're wrong. I love you. Always and forever. There'll never be anyone else for me; you'd be a fool to think anything else. And you're not a fool." The words came out in a whisper, feeling no reason to talk in a normal tone. This was something between the two of them, an intimate moment no one else could participate in.

She opened her eyes slowly, her amber eyes meeting his baby blue. The tears rested as a curtain over her eyes, shining in the changing light. He knew this was the time to kiss her. She wanted him to, he could see it in the sadness of her eyes, and he knew that if he just brushed his lips against hers, she would give in to him. She'd realize that all she'd told herself had been a lie, and that they were destined to be together. They were soulmates, even though she denied it.

He told herself that that was just her way of dealing with the pain, as he leaned in that one last inch and brushed his lips against hers. She breathed unsteadily against his mouth, and he slowly caressed her lips with his own. He didn't put any pressure on her; he just enjoyed that light touch, the sensation of her lips against his own.

They belonged together; it was all clear now, he knew she knew that too.

As he pulled back and reopened his eyes, he saw that the tears had fled her eyes and now slowly sailed down her soft cheek. She met his eyes with an uncertainty that, even though he'd seen it so many times before, still felt as wrong and uncharacteristic as if it had been the first time. This girl wasn't uncertain; she was strong, brave and always confident.

And now, seeing her cry for what he thought of as the first time, he just swallowed hard at the lump that had gathered in his own throat. "I'm not going to abandon you ever again. We belong together and that's exactly how it should be. You're going to get out of here, I promise. I just have to convince Caleb it's a good idea."

She nodded faintly, biting at her bottom lip. The tears kept on falling and Reid wrapped his arms around her to capture her in a comforting embrace. She breathed shakily against his chest, leaning her forehead against it. Reid pressed a kiss against the top of her head the same second he heard the sob that escaped through her lips.

Knowing this was the last part, the loss spread inside his chest. There was a knot inside his stomach that seemed to tighten every time he experienced this same exact thing, and he couldn't hold back the tears in his own eyes as he whispered into her hair.

"I love you."

The solidity of her body seemed to fade, slowly fading. Soon he'd be alone, with only the promise he'd made her. A promise he had no idea just how to fulfill.

The girl drew a last shaky breath against his chest, before she was all gone.

And Reid woke up.


	2. Chapter 1

_Helluuuu! (:  
So, I'm quick with updating (not...) and decided to explain something...  
Last chapter was written in the middle of the night two days ago, which explains the sloppy spelling in some places but the worst part was probably that I forgot to label it Prologue. Yeah, I was tired and my mom was bugging me about going to bed and I didn't think about putting the label in the top. Haha, at least now you know! (:  
And seriously, I've gotten so many hits on this story - after only one chapter may I mention... - and I only got two reviews? What happened, did you miss the review button? Did you suddenly lose all eyesight? Or maybe you just didn't feel like it? -.^ anyways, leave a review or something, tell me if this is any good or if there's something I should do better?  
Before we get on with the story - I disclaim any rights to any material that was not born in my own imagintation!  
Enjoy! (:_

Chapter 1.

It's hard trying to fit in at a place where you know you don't belong. Especially if you shouldn't even be there at all. It's even harder pretending to be happy and friendly when that's the last thing you feel.

What is easy, though, is following instructions. Such as; sit by the bar, look over at him, make eye contact then break it, ignore him, then look at him again, when he comes up to you, act like you're not interested, ignore him… and so on. If you have the right instructions, everything is easy.

I had the right instructions, and I had the right target. He was attractive and womanizing, easy to get hooked, hard to get rid of – that is, if he doesn't get what he wants. He was a winner in every situation, always finishing the game he played to the mark. Right now he just didn't know what game he was playing. But he was about to find out.

My eyes drifted over to him again and I met his gaze as he leaned over the pool table, made his last shot and gave me his signature bad-boy grin. On that cue I raised an eyebrow and turned back to my drink, slowly making circles in the liquid with the straw. I could feel his eyes lingering on me a little bit longer, pursing my lips when I knew they were turned away. From the corner of my eye I could see him giving Tyler Simms one of those one armed hugs before handing over his cue stick to him and heading for the bar. His eyes were yet again on me.

Okay, just so you don't get the wrong idea here, I wasn't doing this of my own will. There is a sort of problem to my life story, and that little problem indicated no free will. Well, I had some free will, like what to do around friends, but around this one guy – the one that was closing in on me this second – I didn't have anything to say about the situation. I had been ordered to seduce him, make him want me in a way that would end up hurting him and the others. I wasn't a cruel person, I didn't want to do any of this, but as I said, I didn't have a choice.

That's why, when he leaned in over the bar next to me, ordering two cokes from Nicky, I met his gaze from the corner of my eye. The smile appeared on his lips and he leaned in closer to be heard over the noise.

"Are we going to keep this up all night?"

"What exactly?" I asked with pouted lips, turning to full front face him. "The 'exchanging wanting gazes but nothing else'?"

"Yeah, that," his smirk was still on place, and I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well, Mr. Garwin, unless you decide to dance with me, I guess we will," I returned his smirk and the eyebrow got even higher.

He straightened up his stance and I slid down from the barstool, shaking out my long curls using one hand. There was a look of something in his eyes, but it was gone before I had time to place it. His smirk got even wider when he grabbed my outstretched hand and I lead him to the dance floor. There wasn't too many people out there, but there was enough of bodies to keep us somewhat out of plain sight from his friends. I didn't really want them staring at me and their friend while we got all close and heavy against one another.

Say what you want about the guy, but he wasn't a bad dancer. He'd obviously made this kind of contact with other girls before me. His movements were seductive, his wandering hands, while still keeping to allowed parts, were indicating something more might go down later. It wasn't.

His hands searched down my arms, got a gentle hold on my wrists and put my arms around his neck. I knew what he was going to do, I could feel the vibes of him making his move, moving even closer, leaning his head down. Our breaths were mixing up, revealing there had been some consuming of alcohol. The second he was about to close in the last inch, I opened my mouth.

"Not going to happen."

His eyes had been halfway closed, but were now open. His hands slid down from the allowed zone of my back, and gently cupped my butt. "Don't you know who I am?"

My hands found his and I put them back at his sides. "I know that all too well," I smiled, before turning away and walking back to my seat at the bar. The seed had been sown and now it was up to him to make it grow. I knew he would, and I got even more certain when I saw the faces of his friends. He had headed back for the table they occupied, and he obviously hadn't been prepared for the greeting he was going to get – he hadn't known that I had made my denial obvious to his friends on purpose, but as I headed for a door, I met his gaze and gave him a smile that let him know I'd made a joke of him on purpose. The look I received could have killed a stone.

Outside of Nicky's, the sleek black vehicle waited for me. I recognized it from earlier, that man had been riding in it. He'd driven me to Spencer in it that first day, dropped me off then gotten out of there fast. Though the driver's seat was empty.

Guessing I should drive the thing back to Spencer, I opened the door, jumped in behind the steering wheel and drove off. Halfway to Spencer I noticed a phone in the passenger seat. The scary thing wasn't that it hadn't been there before now – the scary thing was that it started ringing the second I put my eyes on it.

My eyes widened, but my brain easily put the puzzle pieces together. Parking at the side of the road, I gripped the phone and accepted the call.

"You did well."

"Thanks."

"He's hooked, now you just need to pull him in."

"Okay."

"He probably won't talk to you in a few days, since you embarrassed him in front of his friends, but Reid is Reid and I'm guessing he'll be on track again by Friday."

I listened intently at his words, memorizing each and every one, while my eyes traced over my surroundings. It felt like someone was watching me, but if there was I couldn't make out anything in the darkness. Still, the feeling didn't go away.

"Sure, I'll do what you tell me to."

"There's a party at the Dell's on Friday, I want you to go there and do what you do best." There was a click and then the line died.

I sighed heavily, leaning my forehead against the steering wheel. I didn't want to do this, not any of it, but I didn't have a choice. It's hard to be a slave, especially when you find your assignment disgusting.

I wasn't a seductress, not if I knew myself right and it seemed like I didn't. I was after all the result of someone's imagination.

I started the engine again, this time making it all the way back to Spencer without anything happening. It wasn't until my head hit the pillow in my dorm that I felt the presence of something. But by the time I realized what, it was too late and I was swept into a dream with ghostly white mists clinging to my feet and a blonde male walking towards me…


	3. Chapter 2

_Okay, so here's my deal. Next update won't be made until I've at least gotten five NEW reviews. And dude, by the amount of viewers I have on this shit, it can't be that hard!  
Now, just because I said that, I don't want you laying back on your ass thinking "Whatever, if she really has many hits, why don't any of them do it?" That won't get YOU another update.  
So, with the risk of sounding rude: GET OFF YOUR ASS AND REVIEW!  
Oh, and I did a lame ass cliffie in the end, plus this chapter's longer, at least you can comment that. (;  
Have fun!_

Considering I didn't look the slightest as my bar self, I wasn't surprised Reid didn't recognize me that Monday. Sure, my hair was the same length, my face looked just the same, my body did too, but being dressed in my school uniform, the hair on the top of my head pulled into a French braid that stopped about three turns in and ended in a high ponytail.

I looked more like the nice schoolgirl than the sexy seductress I had pretended to be. This felt more like home – seeing as I felt comfortable not having to flash my bra nor my panties.

The reason I brought up the thing about Reid recognizing me, was because he actually didn't. He probably didn't recognize any of the girls that he'd been with or the ones that had rejected him – and I doubt the last option has been chosen by many.

Walking down the hallway along with my girls – Tammy and Lauren – our laughter was pretty noticeable. Reid and his friends were standing in the other end of the hallway, laughing and joking about something that obviously had to do with Reid and their so called Baby Boy Simms. I guess it was something Kate said about the two of them never getting a "real" relationship because they were secretly gay and in love with each other. Don't laugh, it's probably true.

In fact, I'd bet on it being true.

"Hey, Mel, what'cha thinkin'?" Lauren said annoying me by dragging out on every vocal until it didn't sound like a letter anymore. Of course she'd noticed my drifting away moment – and she'd probably seen where my gaze had landed too.

"Seriously, Mel, you could have any guy and you're looking at _him_?" Tammy raised her eyebrows pointedly at me, giving me a once over indicating I shouldn't protest.

We reached our lockers that second and I opened mine, blocking my face from their views.

"I can't get anyone, I don't look that good," I mumbled, my cheeks turning hot. I grabbed my books, a second later thanking heaven I hadn't grabbed for them a second later, seeing as my locker was slammed in my face. "What the-?" I shrieked at the two girls who looked at me with murderous glares.

"If you don't look good, then no one does," Lauren glared.

"Yeah, you've got that perfect face; high cheek-bones, a pointy little nose, big innocent brown eyes and full lips that every guy dreams about kissing. And then there's your hair! Gosh, I'd kill for those long brown curls, Mel! Kill!" Tammy was having an outburst, making me widen my eyes and starting to wonder if I should worry about my social status.

"Don't forget her body, it's perfect! I can't imagine how many years you've had to work for it," Lauren added, giving me another one of those pointy gazes. I raised my eyebrows and my hands in defeat.

"You see it one way, I see it another," I defended myself weakly.

Seeing the protests shaping on their lips, I started backing away, clutching my books to my chest. Unfortunately, there was one of those seemingly cute Hollywood moments, where I just turned to see where I was walking and ended up walking into someone – resulting in mine and his books on the floor.

"Jeez, I'm sorry!" I gasped out, reaching down for my books the same second he reached down for his. And of course, clumsy little me ended up banging my head into his and knocking us both onto our butts on the floor.

I looked up from my books – my face blushing a veeeeery attractive red – meeting the eyes of Baby Boy Simms – his face ironically having the same color mine did. I could see the laughter in his eyes, and I bet he could see it in mine, because we both cracked up into laughter at the same time.

"Quite the Hollywood meeting, good job," he laughed, his thoughts matching mine perfectly.

"Well, we all have our specialties, don't we?" I smiled at him, reaching out for my book only to have him take it from under my hands.

Tyler got to his feet, moving the books to one arm and reaching out towards me with the other.

"Thanks," I smiled again as I grabbed his hand and got to my feet. "I'm sorry about all of this, I'm not as graceful as I wish to be," I apologized, reaching out my hands to get him to give me my books. Being the cute guy I knew he was, he handed them to me with one of those cute smiles.

"It's okay."

The conversation died out after that and we ended up awkwardly staring at each other until the first bell was heard and I realized I had to run to get to class.

"Um, I've gotta go, but I'll see you around?"

Tyler gave me a smile that told me I would, until we headed in different directions down the hallway.

~k.k~

The periods that day moved by slower than usual, not only because I was still watching out for any notion from Reid or his group of friends, but it didn't seem like any of them recognized me. Weird how much a different hair style could change your appearance. Well, as I said, it wasn't just the Reid-situation that made the day boring.

Skillful I had to fall asleep during history, earning me a detention slip which ruined my plans to go shopping with Lauren and Tammy, and then it was that thing during math…

Well, we were given some insanely hard assignments, our professor telling us you needed two brains to crack this equation – haha, math-jokes are so negative (yeah, I know, I'm really funny!) – and ended up pairing me with Aaron Abbott. And, Jesus Christ, who knew Abbott was a perv?

That lesson ended up with me giving Abbott a black eye after he'd tried to get to my ass for the fifth time – I warned him all the other times that if he tried it again I'd give him a black eye, but did he listen? NOOOOO! – and of course getting handed another detention slip, since the professor thought I was just giving one of those lame innocent acts.

But then came Biology.

The lessons that day had been completely Son free, until this one, where – lucky me – all of them were assigned. They were already at their seats, spread out talking about something. They looked really deep into their conversation, Caleb telling them some sorry.

My eyes started looking for Tammy instead, finding her propped on the line of seats in front of the one of the Sons. Heading straight for the empty space next to her – and missing the leg that was extended straight in front of me.

Luckily I didn't do one of those really graceful things where I end up on the floor with a squashed nose. Nope, I managed to get hold of a desk to break my fall, locking gazes with Tammy.

"Shit, Mel, you okay?" she asked, getting up on her feet and grabbing my stuff from my arms.

I didn't acknowledge her though; instead I straightened up and turned around on my heel. This time it was a grinning Aaron Abbot next to an equally grinning Kira Snyder looking up at me. Abbott being the one that had tried to trip me.

"Asshole," I growled at him, earning a glare from Kira Snyder – whom I chose to ignore.

"Bitch," Abbot answered back, glaring at me as if he was trying to kill me with his stare.

"Oh, nice black eye, Aaron, I see you're aiming for a matching one!" I managed a smile at him even though this guy made me want to puke.

"Whore!" Kira outburst, whilst Abbott only got red in the face. She was standing in her seat looking like she couldn't believe a word she'd heard.

"Yeah, you should know the type," I smiled yet again, before turning my back at the chick and taking place in my seat. People all around the classroom stared at me like I was some lunatic or something, and I almost felt the need to flip them off.

Only I didn't have the time before the professor rounded the corner and entered the classroom. And already having been given two detention slips in one day – I didn't want to risk another.

Tammy tried hard to get my attention during the first minutes of class, but I worked my ignoring magic and ended up pissing her off so she wouldn't talk to me. Actually, I was listening to what the woman in front of the room was saying. Or trying to at least.

There was something about a group assignment that would be done by the end of the week, something, something, something – did I forget to tell you my listening skills ended about after I heard the relevant part? Ops, sorry! – and she would be assigning the groups.

Actually she'd already done so and was now writing names and splitting them in groups of four on the blackboard. My eyes drifted to where she'd neatly written:

"Melinda Carrey

Tammy Andersen

Pogue Parry

Tyler Simms"

And a little smile erupted on my lips. I could feel a pair of eyes in my neck but I ignored them as I turned to Tammy, giving her one of my cutest and angelic smiles.

"Tammy, sweetie, I'm sorry for ignoring you! I was mad but not at you. Abbott's an ass."

I could see the last part of that statement caught her attention and she turned to me with slits for eyes. "What did he do to you?"

"He tried to grab my ass five times – I did warn him about my fist landing in his face, but that idiot is too stupid to take advice." I sighed heavily and pouted my lips – actually going all the way with the "I'm sooooo innocent"-act – but I couldn't hold back my smile when I saw the one shaping on Tammy's lips.

"You hit him?"

"Of course, what do you take me for, an innocent little girl that's unable to defend herself?" I gave her a pointed look and she rolled her eyes.

"Sorry," she smiled, reaching out to hug me.

"Oh, and by the way – I managed two detention slips so I can't go shopping today," I mumbled quickly. Okay, I'm a lame ass, otherwise I would have told her those news in a much more proud way, but the truth is that I know how Tammy looks on shopping. And I didn't want her to get one of her fits.

As it was she didn't have the time to yell at me because our professor ordered us to get in our groups and start with the assignments.

Thinking this would be a piece of cake; I smiled widely and welcomed Pogue and Tyler to our beautiful desk.

Turned out this wasn't going to be easy. See, we're all persons with a different look on life, and seeing as our assignment involved ethics, it didn't work out very well. We all disagreed on some point and when we found one of those things we disagreed on, we ended up in an argument where no one would fold.

Our group sucked, big time.

Luckily though before we managed to get into another disagreement, the bell sounded and everyone stood in their seats. Tammy and I exchanged a look before practically running for the door, leaving Tyler and Pogue behind looking lost until Caleb and Reid rejoined them. We found Lauren leaning against the wall somewhat down the hallway, and we would have joined her if it hadn't been for the insanely hot guy she was talking to.

Instead we walked down to a bench standing appropriate in the hallway, and Tammy turned to me.

"It sucks you know," she mumbled, pouting her lips disappointedly.

"What?" I asked her distantly. My eyes had been left on Lauren and her guy-friend – she was blushing – but I'd noticed the four Sons leaving the classroom and my eyes lingered on Reid. I won't say I was glaring, but I can't say I was looking at him with longing either.

"That you've got detention," Tammy sighed, putting her elbow on her leg and propping her head into her palm.

"Whatever, who says I'll be there anyways?" I mumbled, redirecting my gaze as the Sons seemed to turn our way.

Tammy straightened up next to me, shaping her mouth into an 'O'. "You wouldn't…!"

"I wouldn't?" I asked, raising one of my eyebrows at her shocked face. "It's not like I care about getting into trouble," I mumbled, my fingers brushing through the hair in my ponytail.

"You're going to get expelled, you know…" Tammy mumbled under her breath. Her eyes must have met some guys' because she got one of those goofy grins on her face. I rolled my eyes and got to my feet.

"They can't expel me, I'm a straight A student," I grinned and got to my feet. "Come on, it's lunchtime!" I was determined to get that stupid smile away from her face – what guy was attracted to _that_? – and force her to play little miss Hard-to-get. We all know by now that is the way to get most guys' attention – Reid's amongst others.

Tammy gave me one of those annoying pouts but still followed me over to Lauren. The girl quickly said bye to her male company and we walked off to the cafeteria. Tammy didn't lose her pout until we were all seated around one of those round tables.

Lauren's face was lit up in a teasing smile and she turned to me, "What did Abbott do to deserve a fist in his face?"

I rolled my eyes and quickly explained to her about the whole "don't-grab-my-ass-or-I'll-hit-you"-situation. Earning Lauren's approval.

"Okay, 'cause we seriously don't need you to get expelled. I've actually come up with a plan," Lauren winked, diving into her dinner.

I raised one of my eyebrows towards her, preferring that before Tammy's confused face. "And may I ask what exactly that plan is?"

"You may," Lauren grinned, not showing any sign of telling.

Tammy and I spent the rest of the lunch period trying to get Lauren to tell – but big surprise, Miss Secretive didn't budge.

~k.k~

Actually, the only clue we got from Lauren was to be pretty and prepare for the best shopping trip in our lives. Oh, and that we were gathering in the parking lot.

So, an hour after the end of the school day, Tammy and I were ready and on our way down to the parking lot.

Only to stop dead in our tracks as we saw who Lauren was standing with.

Well okay, this sounds like something you could only dream up, but seeing as Lauren was Sarah's cousin, it wasn't really that hard to believe. So, as I recon you've all understood by now, standing next to Lauren was of course the four Sons of Ipswich, joined by Sarah and Kate.

"Seems like Lauren's finally made herself useful and pulled the Sarah-string," Tammy grinned widely and did something that looked like a mixture of skipping and running all the way over to the seven people standing in front of Tyler Simms Hummer.

I on the other hand stood still right where she'd left me, suddenly feeling like I should go and wrap myself up in a big poncho or something, instead of just the trench coat over my strapless top. My eyes were on Reid, watching him like a hawk – that's what I was supposed to do – and the second he caught sight on me and gave me one of those smiles, I buttoned up the jacket and tied the belt in the waist. Then I headed for their little group.

Reid obviously hadn't recognized me, and I was beginning to wonder if he'd been even drunker than I'd thought he had been that night. And my suspicions got confirmed when he didn't even show any signs of recognition as I reached the group.

"Mel, I was starting to think you'd turn and run back to the dorms," Lauren smiled widely, earning a few laughs from around her.

"Ha-ha, Lauren, you're so funny," I mumbled, pulling a hand through my hair and rolling my eyes. The smile on her face told me she saw the signs of irritation I knew I was showing.

"You just admitted to thinking about just that," Tammy grinned, making me turn towards her glaring.

Lauren chose that exact moment to intervene, avoiding a scream fight between me and Tammy. I can't blame her, I'd have done the same thing – mine and Tammy's fights always got ugly. "So, we'd better get going, what cars do we have?"

Caleb smiled, being the helpful good guy he was, and started picking off the different cars on his fingers – we had Tyler's infamous Hummer, Caleb's car, and if there was any of us girls with a car?

Yeah there was, Lauren offering her beloved hot pink be-wheeled monster, making me protest when she offered me a seat in it.

"I will not be in that monster!"

"Are you calling my baby a monster?"

"Fine, okay, DEATHTRAP!"

"She is not a deathtrap!"

"Have you looked at that piece of junk?"

"JUNK? It's my BABY!"

"Yeah, and your baby's got a serious case of broken legs!"

"She's not broken at all!"

"Not YET!"

"GAH!"

"I won't ride in that thing," I stated, actually stomping my foot into the asphalt.

"Fine then!" Lauren yelled, doing the same foot-thing I'd done.

We stood still, glaring at each other, none of us going to cave in this stare-off of ours. People around us were probably getting uncomfortable, but what did I know, I was staring at Lauren. I knew she was a stubborn-ass chick, but please, she'd never beaten me in anything that involved stubbornness.

It had probably gone about a minute or two when someone said something that made me turn away from Lauren and look at the person with small eyes.

"You can ride with us."

Reid Garwin.


	4. Chapter 3

_This chapter is a teenzy bit shorter than my last but i bet you can take it. (;  
I got a super good review from Scribbled Truth that just confirmed what I though for myself. I've decided ït was stupid to demand reviews for an update, and instead I'm just gonna do what this person tells me to. I'm gonna offer a preview for a review, smart huh? :D  
So, here's the third chapter in my story - the next one will include the Friday's Party, just to give a little tease. (:  
Thinking about changing my info btw, you know the thing that makes you interested in the story (can't remember the name right now, I'm not an english/american so I'm not supposed to either xd) so don't be surprised if that's changed! (:  
Anyways, I disclaim what I don't own, as usual!  
REVIEW for a PREVIEW guys! (:_

Chapter 3  
Living Ink and Told-you-so kisses

So, hitching a ride in the Hummer – along with Reid, Tyler, Pogue and Kate – wasn't so bad, and i was seriously starting to consider if Reid really was the devil sent from the burning Hells – in a disguise – or an angel sent from Heaven – also in a disguise? He was actually acting sweet, and not like the asshole I imagined him be.

Well, turns out Reid really were the Devil, and he was determined to make me feel uncomfortable. Who knew Reid could do that? Yeah, sarcasm's the shit.

Anyways, after having been dragged around looking for hot clothes, I was the girl carrying the least shopping bags. After all, Kate and Sarah both had a hot swimmer-boyfriend with booming abs, and those two being so hooked they offered themselves to carry the shopping bags.

And then there was Tyler, who was just the cutest thing ever and being his cutie-pie self, he offered to carry Lauren and Tammy's bags. He offered to carry mine too, but I wouldn't let him. Seriously, as soon as he got close to me I hugged the bags to my chest and looked at him with big eyes.

Which by the way freaked him out and made him back away and look at me weirdly. I can't see why…

So, we'd been to about fifteen stores when Kate shone up and held up something that looked too small to be a dress. I raised my eyebrow towards her and sighed as I got back to looking through the rack before me.

"Not your color, Kate."

"Nope, but it'd look awesome on you."

I had to check and see if that smile on her face was genuine or if she was just trying to be funny. Oh, huh, guess she wasn't.

"I'm not even going to say anything," I mumbled, my eyes darting to the dress.

"Are you kidding, you've got the perfect body for this!" Tammy grinned, diving for the dress just to study it closer.

"Still, that can't even count as a dress," I said, my face indicating I thought they were crazy for even suggesting me to try that piece of fabric on.

"I think it's nice," Reid said from behind Tammy, his eyes studying the thing.

"See, that's my point," I concluded, gesturing towards Reid.

Tammy's grin faded and she took a closer look at the dress, grimacing, "I guess if Reid think it's _nice_ then there is definitely something slutty about it." Though there was a look on her face saying she really liked the dress.

"If you like it so much, why don't you try it on yourself?" I looked at her from the corner of my eye, but the girl just looked sad.

"Nope, that dress is not for me, plus, my parents would kill me, then chop off my head and put it on a stick in the garden if they ever laid eyes on that." She sighed heavily and lumped away, and my eyes fell on the dress again.

I honestly thought this little argument was over, but obviously Kate was determined to get me in the dress. Maybe she just wanted to check me out, what did I know, but things were starting to get a little creepy.

"You are going to try this dress on by your own free will, or I will put it on you myself." She was only getting creepier…

"I prefer dressing myself thank you," I muttered, putting out my hand so she could hand me the dress. Kate had an award winning smile when she gave me the piece of shit and I responded with a bitter smile that made hers even wider.

I'm a joy spreader, I've always been. Ha… ha…

Okay, enough sarcasm already – dressing room time. Which meant Reid wasn't allowed anywhere near me or any of the girls. Tyler and the other guys made sure to block him from getting any view of us, seeing as most of the stuff we tried out was short and hot stuff – and we didn't need any of his comments. No one did.

So, halfway through all the trying things, Kate demanded me to put the dress on – which I actually had hoped she'd forgotten all about after getting all those cute (and annoying) compliments from her biker boy – and I sighed heavily before putting the thing on.

Looking in the mirror, the dress didn't really look bad at all. Sure, it was short, and the back was open and revealed a little too much skin. But it was hot. It ended by my collarbones, letting the back do all the revealing, and it looked classy, in a marine blue color that somehow managed my hair to look like it had even more colors in it. Though the thing about revealing all of your back when you had my back… it drew A LOT of attention.

I didn't even notice Kate ripping the curtains open to look at the dress. I didn't notice any of them standing there staring until Sarah mumbled a "Wow" and Lauren "Agreed." Then I turned to them and put a hand at my waist, giving them my best bitchy look.

"What if I'd been naked?"

"Well, you weren't, now turn back to we can ogle that tattoo some more!" That was Tammy, of course, and I sighed heavily before turning around and brushing my hair over my shoulder.

I couldn't blame them. First time I'd seen that tattoo, I'd been impressed too.

Well, maybe not impressed, more like… wowed. Awed. Amazed. There were many words for that feeling.

The tattoo was amazing. It covered all of my back. The motive was a pair of wings, ironically the wings of an angel, and they looked like they had just broken through my skin. The ink may have been forever imprinted in just the same position to my skin, but it still looked like it moved. Like the feathers were slowly moving in a light wind. It was a work of art, and every time I looked at it, it seemed to have yet another little feather that had dropped from the beautiful wings, slowly sailing down my skin. The tattoo seemed to be alive, and I didn't know how it could be that way.

I knew magic existed, I wasn't dumb. If magic hadn't existed, then I wouldn't have been alive. Actually, just a couple of months ago, I wasn't. The tattoo was a birthmark; a reminder, that I wasn't real and that if _he _died, so would I. Well, I wouldn't die exactly, just fade away and out of existence. It wasn't much harder than that, probably wouldn't hurt. Would just feel like going to sleep.

That's why I'm afraid of falling asleep at night, not because of that one dream. With me and Reid in it. I knew it was him, not only because I said his name a couple of times, but because it felt like him. Like I imagined his kisses would be like. It was strange though, that I still felt this much resent to this guy. I was afraid of him, because I knew that if I gave in to him and his charms, I would be lost. I knew I would seize to exist and that it wouldn't be like sleeping. It would be like dreaming of him, over and over again, for forever. There wouldn't be a stop to it until he'd found himself another girl and made her pregnant or something.

Okay, enough of the heavy stuff, I don't want to give away too much too soon. That would make this lose all its meaning.

~k.k~

The rest of the shoppingtrip wasn't that much of an interesting time. The boys had caught sight of my tattoo and left their guards down long enough for Reid to have a chance to slip between them and take a look for himself.

The look he'd given me was something I didn't appreciate. Not the drool either.

We headed back for school and all went their different ways, but not before Reid managed to sneak out my room number – and my phone number – all by flirting with Tammy, who fell for it – pathetic… - and I ended up rolling my eyes at him when he gave me his signature smile.

I had a one person room, meaning I lived all by myself – though I spent most weekends over at Tammy and Lauren's – and dropping my shopping bags on the floor inside the door, I didn't notice the person on my bed. It wasn't until I put the light on that I saw him.

My first reaction was to ask "how the hell did you get in here?" then I saw who it was.

"Melanie, how was shopping?" the boy asked.

I bit my lower lip and pulled a nervous hand through my hair. He usually made me nervous, since I knew when he was close to me, he could sense everything. And I seriously meant that. It was a little awkward having a guy who could look into your head whenever he wanted to, but that's what you got for being a freak that had only lived a couple of months.

"It was great," I answered bleakly. I hated feeling this way, but around this particular guy, I always felt like a kid. Maybe because he was like my dad or something – he did create me in some mysterious way that I didn't want to know about – and every time we talked it was about Reid and how I was going to get him to fall for me. Kind of having the Talk about a hundred times.

Only this dad gave tips.

"I could sense how you pulled away from him today; you know that's not what you should do."

"I know."

"Reid isn't like Tyler, he isn't the shy boy who wants his girls to act like nuns. You need to get out there and catch his attention. Do something you know he'll notice and respect."

"If I'd do that, I'd get expelled."

A smile tugged on his lips, "Not like that. Maybe you should join the swim team."

"That would only make him think I'm desperate."

Another smile, "Maybe you're right. You probably know best how to draw in a man. After all, that's you purpose of living."

He said it so easily I wanted to rip his head off. There was another smile and his eyes rested on the door a couple of seconds before he disappeared into thin air. My eyes went to the door the second someone knocked on it.

Walking towards it I had just enough time to toss my jacket to the floor and brush a hand or two through my hair. Then I opened the door and my eyebrows sailed to the top of my forehead when I saw Reid.

"What're you doin' here?" I asked with an awkward half-smile on my lips.

Reid didn't say anything, but I saw what was going on in his head the second his face came closer, his eyes closing halfway and his hands stroking the sides of my face.

The kiss was brief, but it was long enough for me to feel the warmth of Reid's lips, the caress of his touch and the softness of his skin. I didn't have much time to touch his face though, before he pulled back and smirked.

"So going to happen," he mumbled, giving me a gentle peck before walking off.

I closed the door behind him, still trying to figure out what all of this meant. Obviously he remembered what I'd said to him the other night, when we'd danced at Nicky's. So that had all been a little something to prove that he could take what he wanted even though it was denied to him? Was he going to keep this up or was he just going to start ignoring me now? Like I was some sort of ho he could just do whatever he wanted with?

Well, Reid Garwin, I'm not going to let that happen. Not while I'm still alive.

You're going to learn which player you're up against and exactly how she can seduce you. After all, this bitch was made for you. And you're gonna get her.

All the while echoing my speech in my head, I brushed my teeth, got into the t-shirt I slept in, and crawled in between my covers.

I didn't have the dream until later that night, instead I got a few hours of good sleep before it was all crashed and my dreamself had an emotional breakdown.

Reid Garwin, this is all your fault.


	5. Chapter 4

_It's taken me a while to update, I know. Kind of sucks, I know. I should've been quicker, I know.  
But had I been quicker I hadn't produced this awsome chapter (;  
So, to mantion some reason's of why I've been slow: my computer crashed, I've been on a skiing trip, I couldn't find a writing program, and I had some finals.  
I've done three out of four english finals and so far I've only gotten A's, hoping for another one this wednesday! Wish me luck! :D  
anyways, I disclaim anything that is not a work of my own imagination, and so on..._

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Chapter 4  
Fights and sparks

About a couple of days before the party, I happened to walk down the hall behind a couple of chicks - faces caked with make-up and hair riddiculously teased - and they happened to say the most interesting thing about Mr. Reid Garwin.

So, I wasn't really surprised girls were talking 'bout Reid behind his back, and I wasn't surprised that they'd been with him either. What surprised me was... well, I'll have to repeat the conversation for you to fully understand the funny.

"So, Reid's been single for a while now..."

"Yeah, I know. Weird."

"Thought he'd go after some bimbo or something."

"Mhm, surprised he didn't really, but what do I know, maybe he'd after that brown haired chick that tends to hang out with their group?"

"Nah, don't think so, she's not really his type."

"Nope, she's not the type to put out."

"She's hot though, maybe something for Tyler."

"Little too feisty."

"Yeah, you're right. Seems like she should be with Reid anyways. Tattooed and all that."

"Reid doesn't like tattoo's on girls."

"How'd ya know that?"

"... he seems like that type..."

"Oh, okay, for a second there I thought you'd like... done something with him and he'd told you... or something."

Nervous laughter, "No way, not Reid, he's too..."

"Yeah, I know. He's good in bed though."

"What?"

"... or so I've heard..."

"Oh, I thought you'd like... done it with him... or something."

More nervous laughter, "No, not Reid, if any of those boys, it'd have to be Caleb... or Pogue."

"Yeah, they're cute."

"And unavilable."

Seems like girls my age fall for the unavailable guys, luckily I'm not a bimbo.

Nah, I'm just the girl of Reid's dreams.

~k.k~

Friday night and the party at the Dells was taking place just a few minutes from now. Luckily for me, all cool people got there late, since I was still in my underwear. Okay, I had my jeans on, but no shirt. I couldn't decide weither to wear the loose grey cut off t-shirt or the tight grey cut of tank.

Seriously I couldn't see the problem myself, but somehow my girly brainside decided to get involved and had me doubting what to wear.

I even ignored when someone started knocking on my door just because of my little problem. Gosh, this is so out of character for me. I'm usually determinded and never hesitate on what too wear. Reid was the problem. All I kept thinking of was "What would Reid prefer?" and why the hell would I think that?

I'm not some kind of lovesick idiot that can only think of this one guy! I'm a feministic chick with my own ways. I'm not supposed to fit myself after some guy!

Okay, so I was created for this guy and yeah, I should be trying my hardest to be just as he wanted me, but well, that wasn't me. Guess he wants an independent chick with a brain of her own. And for the record, not a shy one either, just someone that's hard to get.

I was so busy in my thoughts that I didn't notice the door sliding open - hey, didn't I lock it? - and someone walking into the room. Not until he held up the cut of grey tank did I even realize I wasn't alone.

"You should wear this one."

"How the hell did you get in here?" I shrieked, reaching for the t-shirt instead for the tank he was trying to hand me. Haha, okay, maybe that was a little bit childish, but hey, would you wear something a perv was handing to you? Didn't think so.

"Your door was unlocked."

"No, it wasn't."

"Yes, it was."

"No, it wasn't."

"Yes, it was"

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"Did you break in?"

"It was _open_!"

I settled with glaring at him and crossing my arms over my chest. Guessing you've figured out who the guy is by now? If not, you're really slow - no offence - and needs too read up on your Reid-facts.

We stood there for a while just glaring at each other, both unwilling to give up.

... until his lips curved into a smirk and he said, "Nice bra, by the way."

"Fuck off."

Reid raised an eyebrow and his smirk started to bother me.

"Why are you in my room anyways?"

"I'm gonna take you to the party."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am."

"No."

"Yes."

"NO."

"YES."

"_NO_."

"Do I need to spell it out for you? Y-E-S!"

"No, I'd rather ride in Lauren's monster!"

"Too late, they've already left." Reid's smirk widened.

"You're lying!" I grabbed my phone of the nightstand and speeddialed Lauren. Only too hang up on her the second I heard the sound of the pounding music and crackling of a fire along with her "'ello?"

"Okay, so you're not lying."

"Told ya." He had the stomach to blink. Who was this guy?

"I'll just ask Tyler, he'd do anything for a girl in need."

"Too bad he hasn't got his wheels then." His grin got impossibly EVEN WIDER.

"You stole his Hummer?"

Reid shrugged.

"You're one mean bastard, you know that, Reid Garwin?"

"Oh, don't worry, sweet heart, he'll get it back in the morning."

"For how long, a couple of minutes?"

Reid rolled his eyes and slung his arm around my shoulders - I shrugged it off - before he grabbed my hand and dragged me out the door. Luckily I'd put on shoes an hour earlier.

~k.k~

"Are you kindnapping me?"

"I told you; I'm taking you to the party!"

"Well, this doesn't look like the right way."

"Just shut up, I know this town."

"Well, I don't."

It had been about an hour inside Tyler's Hummer and I was starting to get both irritated and suspicous. We should've been at the party about ten minutes ago - at least that's what Reid'd said. We sat quiet for about another five minutes before the Hummer started to sound really scary and slowly slowing down.

"Reid, what's going on?"

"How should I know?" Reid snapped.

"Well, you're driving the fucking thing!" I snapped back.

"Stop being so freaking annoying!"

"I didn't ask you to drive me!"

"Shut up!"

"You shut up!"

Cute, we were having our first fight...

The car stopped and I opened the door with a curse and started walking off along the road.

"Hey!" Reid called that a few times, before I heard him starting to run after me. I started running too, I don't know if it was just because I wanted to piss him of further or because I was just in the mood - but hearing him cursing his head off behind me was kind of pleasing.

All too soon he caught up with me and stopped me with a jerk.

"What the hell, Mel?"

"What?"

"Why are you PMS:ing at me?"

"I'm not!"

"Yeah, you are!"

"No, I'm not!"

"Yeah, you are!"

"No, I'm not, so shut up!"

"Yeah, you are, so shut up yourself!"

"Fuck you, Reid!"

"Oh, you want to do that now?"

"The hell I do!"

"What's you problem?"

"You!"

We glared at each other, both huffing and puffing of exhaustion, and I couldn't help but notice that Reid was hotter when he was angry, with that dangerous spark in his eyes. I blame what happened next on my perverted feelings.

My hands were around Reid's neck the second his was at my waist, pulling me roughly against himself. Our lips crashed together and there was a taste of blood on my tongue as it met his. Feelings were crashing in my body and I just wanted to come even closer to him, even though I don't think that was possible. And from the grunts and groans that Reid made from time to time, I think he wanted just the same thing.

I didn't register how we got there, but suddenly I was pressed up against a tree and Reid's hands moved over my back while mine was trying to pull his head closer to mine.

We only broke appart for seconds to catch our breaths but we barely had time for that until we crashed together again.

There was a tightness in my stomach and something weird was going on in my chest - I think my heart was fluttering. And then there was the sudden goosebumps that rose where ever Reid's hands touched my skin.

I don't know what was happening between us, but I don't think I'll ever experience that feeling again.

~k.k~

We never made it to the Dells. Instead we found our way back to the Hummer and in some magical way Reid managed to fix the shit and then we went straight back for the dorms. We didn't talk at all on the way back, but there was something crackling between us that said we didn't need words to explain we'd both felt the same.

Honestly, I was a bit scared. This was way too intense, and something like this shouldn't be possible for two people to feel. Maybe it had to do with the fact that I'd been created.

So, obviously it's clear that I haven't got parents. Not in the maner normal people would say. Instead I've got some teenage guy with supernatural powers ordering me around. He's kind of like a parent really, the only thing that's off about thinking of him like that is the fact that he's just a year older than me and that he gives me advice in suduction. I don't think a normal parent would be/do neither.

We separated in the hallways with only a smile, then we headed our separate ways.

This had been a night like no other, and I didn't know what to think of it. It felt off that something like this could be possible, but still it felt just like something you should expect from a guy like Reid.

He was a warlock after all.

* * *

_Review for a preview! (;_


	6. Chapter 5

_Hey you guys! (:  
I've been home sick today, and I've had nothing to do at all (except studying, which I still haven't done... ops...) so I decided to write a new chapter! Hope you're happy and this makes up for my previous slow updating! ^^  
Anyways, when you comment, I can't send you a preview if you comment anonymously, so if you want the preview DON'T DO THAT! (:  
I disclaim anything that doesn't come from my own swedish brain, and so on!  
Hope you enjoy! (:_

* * *

Chapter 5  
Denial and Hard Times

"So, what's up with you and Reid?"

My eyes met his brown and I raised an eyebrow, "You really think there's something going on between Reid and me?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "Why wouldn't there be? There's something going on with him, something I haven't seen before. At first I thought it had something to do with the fact that he started talking in his sleep, but now I'm guessing it has something to do with a girl. Girl meaning you."

"Wait a sec, Reid talks in his sleep?" I widened my eyes and a smile was tugging at my lips, "What does he say?"

"For the record he snores too, and he seems to be having some sort of conversation with a dreamsomeone." Tyler shrugged again, but didn't say anything else.

"Huh," was all I could manage.

We didn't say anything for a while, just kept on walking. Tyler and I had met in the hallways and we both wanted to get out of our next class. We'd decided to skip together and now we were just randomly walking around among some trees.

Tyler caught sight of a bench, nodded in the direction and soon we were both sitting down on it. I turned my face up towards the stray rays of sunlight and sighed of pleasure.

"So, you and Reid?" Tyler persisted.

"Well, I don't know. He's... well, he's Reid. And... I don't know." I sighed with a frown.

"Hm... but, seriously, what's so wrong with Reid being Reid?"

I wrinkled my forehead and met Tyler's gaze. What's up with Tyler being so smart all of a sudden? He's never talked to me like this before! I told him that.

Tyler started too laugh and I glared at him. "I guess I recognize Reid's troubled face, that's all."

"Reid's got a troubled face?" Okay, this started to get a bit too wierd.

"Yeah, and whenever you're around he wears it." Tyler sighed heavily and drew a hand through his ruffled hair.

"So, I make him troubled?" Tyler nodded. "Okay, that's a new one."

Tyler smiled and turned his eyes away to stare at a tree or something. "You really should try to get things staright between the two of you. Even Pogue's noticed Reid's troubled face, and he barely notices stuff like that when Kate's around. And Kate's always around."

A smile tugged at my lips, "If I didn't know any better I'd accuse you of trying to pair me up with Reid so you'll get rid of him."

Tyler and I both started laughing at that, before we fell quiet.

The sun warmed our faces and the birds sung around us. I wasn't much for nature and shit, but this was a moment when even I noticed the colour of the trees, the wind that messed with my hair and I acctually managed to appreciate the birdsong. Something I rarely do.

Somewhere to our left a bell piped up, telling people class was out and it was time for lunch. Tyler and I both got up. I let a sigh slip over my lips as he stretched out.

Tyler had told me a couple of things that I didn't know since before. Obviously Reid had the dream too, otherwise, why would he be having a conversation with someone in his sleep? And obviously he didn't recognize me. Well, that wasn't really a big surprise, since I wasn't as vurnerable in real life as I appeared in the dream. But then there was the fact that I troubled him. What was up with that? Did he, like, _feel_ something for me? Already? Okay, of course there was some chemistry - I can't belive I used that word - between us, and I knew we both felt it, but had that already started to evolve into something else?

In the pit of my stomach I had the answer to that question.

Whenever I laid eyes on him there was like, "butterflies" and a knot in my stomach, which of course made me doubt this was for real at all. Well, nothing was for real in my world, but were those feelings really supposed to be there?

The answer to that was equally simple. No, not yet.

Things were moving along too fast, the kiss had been a mistake, something that should never have happened. Reid and I wasn't supposed to have these feelings this early - I suppose - and this is probably what bothers us both. I'd just have to avoid being alone with him, was my stupid solution.

Proved to be a hard task, seeing as Tyler wasn't the only one who thought we had something to talk about.

"You have to talk to him, Mel."

"Who?"

"Reid, of course," Lauren sighed.

"What do I need to talk to him about?" was my stupid reply.

"Obviously something's going on between you two," Kate said, appearing from nowhere along with Sarah.

"Why does everyone just assume that?" I shrieked, getting annoyed.

We were headed for our dorms and it seemed like they'd all planned an ambush for me - seeing as all the girls in our little group were around me. They were only trying to help, I knew that, but still I couldn't fight against the anger building in my chest.

"Just leave me alone, guys. There's nothing going on between Reid and me and there'll never be anything. So just walk along on your skinny little legs and leave my life alone!" I muttered, stomping along to my door.

The girls kept going behind me, seemingly not noticing that I'd left at all.

My door was open, I noticed, as I pulled down the handle. There was a frown on my face when I noticed the room was empty. Slowly stepping inside, without closing the door, I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Why would someone just go ahead and unlock my door without even taking anything inside? Not that there was that much stuff in the small area, but still, there was some jewelry and some money in the upper drawer in her nightstand, not that much but it was still worth something.

I'd gotten about halfway into the room when the door slowly shut behind me. I turned with a gasp, trying to figure out who the hell was inside my room - the door wouldn't close by itself.

"Who the hell are you?" I shireked, trying to get as far away from the door as possible, ending up stumbling down onto the bed.

There wasn't any answer, only the sound of two feet moving closer to the bed where I was sitting on the end. The steps ended right before me, and I started to crawl higher in the bed, trying to get away from the person.

He leaned in closer, hovering over me, his breath hit me in the face, along with a soft scent of chlorine.

"Reid, what are you doing-" He wouldn't let me finish the sentance, instead his hands appeared on either side of my face, his lips moving closer before softly brushing against mine. My breath caught in my throat when the feeling in my stomach appeared again.

I could feel the smirk on Reid's face as he dropped himself on top of me on the bed.

"I can't believe you're trying to deny that," he muttered, getting serious all of a sudden.

"Deny what?" I muttered back.

"Don't try to talk yourself out of it, I know what you told Baby Boy."

"Did you spy on us?" I shrieked, trying to push him off of me.

"Hey, you can't blame me for that! I've spied on you all day!"

"What?"

"I said don't blame me!"

"Of course I do, idiot!"

"Stop yelling at me!"

"What, you don't want your girls yelling at you? Or maybe you prefer them groaning your name?"

"I'd sure prefer you that way!"

"Too bad that's never going to happen then! Get off of me!"

"Make me." His voice was warm and intimate all of a sudden, and I started to suspect this is what he planned all along. His voice was at my ear, his lips just barely touching it. "I bet you can't," he mumbled along my jawline as he moved his lips back towards my mouth.

He obviously didn't know me that well. Otherwise he wouldn't have made that last bet. Because I never lost a bet.

Reid's lips touched mine again, softly, provocingly moving slow. I answered the kiss eqiually as slow and provocing. His tongue moved over my lips, trying to enter my mouth, I smiled then let him do as he pleased. Though a second or two after his tongue was inside my mouth, I bit it. Hard.

Reid recoiled, backing away fast as hell, I only had to shove him in the chest once for him to fall of the bed.

"What the fuck was that for?" Reid grumpled, sounding funny as hell since he couldn't talk very well, what with the pain in his tongue.

"I always win bets," I smirked, pulling a hand through my hair to try to brush out the mess I knew it had gotten into, before I got out of the bed and straightened my uniform. I noticed Reid staring at me and glared at him. "What?"

"I was just yelling at myself for not taking advantage of that skirt. I can't belive I didn't at least try the buttons." Reid shoke his head and sighed, before sitting down on my bed.

I rolled my eyes at his face, before deciding it was time to change out of my uniform since I didn't want to risk anything. I turned away from him, facing my warderobe, before hurriedly unbuttoning my shirt, opening the door and put on a black t-shirt with some random print. Without taking of my skirt I pulled on a pair of ripped jeans and buttoned them underneath the skirt, before pulling the shit off.

When I turned back to face Reid he was lying flat on his back on my bed, sighing heavily with his eyes in the ceiling.

"What?" I asked, when I was sitting beside him.

Reid rose into a sitting position and faced me with a serious look in his eyes.

"Were you serious about there being nothing going on between us?"

I frowned, pressing my lips to a thin line, "I think I was."

Reid pursed his lips, nodding his head slowly. "Okay, so that thing I knew you felt when I kissed you, that means nothing to you?"

I sighed heavily, "No. It's just... I think things are moving too fast. We only had our first kiss two days ago, and we've only been friends for a week."

"Is that all? I usually only know girls a day before I get with them," Reid outburst.

A smile popped up on my lips and I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I know."

"But seriously, you think it's going to fast?"

"Yeah, sort of."

"And that feeling doesn't mean a thing to you?"

"It sure as hell do! And that's the problem! I think we're moving to fast but at the same time I think we're not moving fast enough, I can't decide which one's the right one."

Reid had a smirk on his lips as he leaned in closer. "Let me help you decide."


	7. Chapter 6

_So sorry I haven't updated anything. I could give you a bunch of excuses, but I wouldn't want to like "lie" or anything, so let's just say I was plain lazy and whatevs...  
Hugs and kisses (;_

* * *

Chapter 6.  
Darkness and Revelations.

It was too fast. That was the decision I had made and now I was seriously having a hard time ignoring this guy. The fact that all of our friends are practically glued together didn't help much.

If I'd had parents, I would've begged them to take me away right now. But the fact that I don't have any still stands and I'm stuck in this hellhole.

Two weeks after Reid had broken into my room, it happened.

I was in math and was seriously trying to not fall asleep and instead focus on the calculations that covered the black chalk board. But the more I tried to focus on the numbers and signs, the blurrier they got.

Trying to blink it away, thinking I'd only gotten something in my eye, I ended up looking like I was trying to pick up some random dude who sat next to me.

Needless to say, he was one of the fastest people out of the door when the bell finally rung. My eyes were still blurry when I started to leave the classroom without tripping over my own feet. It was a hard task, and that was the reason I ended up knocking Tyler flat onto the floor.

"Shit, I'm sorry!" I choked out, still trying to get my sight focused on something and still failing miserably.

"Oh, it's okay, you didn't hurt me." Tyler looked at me for real and I could make out the worried wrinkles in his forehead through the blurriness. "Hey, Mel, you okay?"

"Ugh, I don't know, I think I've gotten something in my eyes."

Tyler grabbed a hold on my face and stared into my eyes. I was about to ask him what the eff's he was doing, because it was kind of creepy, when he leaned back and shrugged.

"I can't see anything, but maybe you should visit the nurse."

"I don't know where she is." It was kind of an embarrassing statement, like, hello, who didn't know where the nurses office were? It was the only place to go for sick-slips.

"It's okay, I'll take you," he smiled and I smiled back. Tyler seriously was a knight in shining armor, unlike the badass looking blonde God that was walking down the hall with his arm draped over some random girl's shoulders.

His eyes spotted mine and he smirked evilly before leaning down and kissing the girl, who sighed and pressed herself closer to him.

I was honestly happy my sight was failing.

"So, how about you take me there now?"

Tyler noticed the look on my face, glanced over his shoulders and shrugged. "Yeah."

We walked in silence. It wasn't until I was about to push the door open that Tyler said something.

"You didn't want to be with him, Mel. You should remember that." Then he walked away.

I entered the cafeteria last in our group, and headed over to our usual table. The girls smiled and Tyler looked at me with a question written in his eyes.

"I'm fine, there's nothing wrong with my eyes, she said it probably had something to do with lack of sleep or something. I don't know, I honestly stopped listening after she said it wasn't anything."

The gang bumped me in the back and whatever, and then got back to talking about whatever it was they had talked about before I had interrupted them with my presence. I didn't listen though.

Reid had entered the cafeteria, still with that same girl from the hall. He searched his surroundings, only barely looking at me, before deciding on a table on the other side of the cafeteria, straight in my line of sight – or, well, what was left of it.

I turned my attention back to the people at my table, but they were all a blur. Blinking a couple of times didn't help at all and instead I tried to listen.

A half an hour later I left the cafeteria and went to my next lesson, trying my best to ignore the fact of my failing vision. What was this anyway?

The truth hit me the second I became aware of a blonde head in the row in front of me. Reid. It was all him!

Since I was created to be with him, I was probably being destroyed by not being with him. I couldn't be sure, but it sounded like the most reasonable explanation.

By Friday I was blind.

I couldn't see a thing at all.

I tried to ignore it, to use my other senses to manage my way through the day, but they still noticed.

Friday night I had locked myself into my room, trying to avoid everyone and all of their questions. The others had planned on going out and I didn't know how I'd manage that so I'd said I wasn't feeling too good.

And I wasn't either.

I didn't cry. Ever.

Unluckily that had changed drastically in a couple of days and now I was just letting the tears free.

I wondered when He would come around. I hadn't seen him in a long time, and I was expecting him to show up any second of the day. Sometimes I heard him laugh in a corner, probably because of the tears that I wore like it was my favorite accessory. Since tears are a weakness and just plain pathetic it probably amused him. But sometimes I could feel his anger. It woke me up in the middle of the night, driving me away from that Godforsaken dream that I couldn't get rid of. Pure hatred and rage, boiling in my head, not my own, but close to it.

Banging on my door got my attention and I scrambled my way to the door, wiping my tears on my long sleeved pajama-top on the way. I felt for the handle and it took me a couple of minutes, since I had to fins the lock too. Door unlocked, it was pushed open just before my face, I could feel the wind of it when it passed just a few millimeters away from my nose.

"Hey!" Lauren's voice.

"What are you doing here, aren't you supposed to go out?" My voice was dull and I let my ace drop to keep my eyes out of sight.

"Yeah, we were, but then we felt sorry for you so we decided to keep you company!" Kate sounded as if she wanted me to get down on my knees and thank her for interrupting my sobbing session.

"Am I supposed to be grateful?"

"You're supposed to not be rude!" Tammy exclaimed, pushing her way past me, almost sending me flat on my behind.

"Okay boys, bring it in!" Kate cheered and then more bodies pressed their way into my room.

So much for weeping in privacy.

Luckily Reid didn't show up. Or so I thought, until I caught a whiff of his cologne. Noticing it, my whole body became tense and I sat up straighter. A little chuckle could be heard from some distance and I bit my lower lip.

The others were watching a movie and I was trying my hardest to make it look like I was doing so too, only hoping I was facing the right direction and wasn't facing a wall.

The smell of Tyler became clearer as something came closer to me and I could hear his breathing as he whispered, "Mel, you sure you're okay?"

I granted him the pleasure of honesty. "No."

I could practically feel his concern in the air. "What's wrong?"

Honesty again. "I'm blind."

The hushed whispers disappeared and the volume was muted. I could feel all their eyes on me and I imagined their big eyes and shocked mouths.

"Well, that was one movie wasted," Kate muttered, making me smile.

Saturday morning my thoughts drifted to my back and my tattoo. It was a birthmark, a little piece of me, and if I had changed, shouldn't it have changed too?

Before I thought about it I managed to get my shirt over my head and walked over to the bodysized mirror. Realizing I couldn't see it anyway, I cursed and I could feel the stupid tears burn my eyes again.

"The feather's are falling off. Since you've insisted on breaking yourself, the tattoo is breaking too. When there aren't any feathers left, you'll be dead." His voice was a whisper in my ear, and I could feel his fingers caressing the lines in my back, before his fingernails dug into the skin. As they retracted, I felt something being slid out of the small wound, making me gasp in pain, fear and discomfort.

Soon something touched my cheek, some of it soft and tender and the rest sticky with something that tasted like metal as he brushed it over my lips.

"You are wasting yourself. If you would just do what you are supposed to, then you wouldn't be in this position."

That's when the door was pushed open and wind rushed over my naked chest and back.

Their presence was heavy in the air, but they didn't say anything, didn't make any noises.

It was all quiet until Chase opened his mouth. "Hello, brothers."


	8. Chapter 7

_I know I haven't updated in a while and I'm sorry about that. I've gotten a job and just partied away the start of my summer and before that it was schoolwork - finals and all that stuff! Anyways, here's the seventh chapter of Belonging, hope you like it!_ _There is some M-rated stuff in the end so if you're sensitive - scim it! _

_disclaimer: this isn't mine and all that..._

* * *

Chapter 7  
revelations and attraction

One second I was standing there, just wondering what the hell were to happen next, and then… BOOM! I was on the floor.

It wasn't so much the fact that my body was smashed against the floorboards, nor the fact that it hurt like hell, but the sensation of everything just flowing back into my mind. Suddenly I wasn't blind anymore, and I could see the floorboards rushing up to meet with my face, smashing my nose and mouth in the process. I didn't make a sound – except for the loud crashing noise that probably everyone in the housing heard.

On one of my sides I could hear Caleb, uttering curses I wasn't expecting from anyone but Reid, shuffling steps as they presumably tried to chase after Chase, who undoubtedly had disappeared into thin air.

I could feel the air thickening as they stopped dead, turning around to stare at me, burning holes in my tattooed back with their eyes. I am screwed, I thought, realizing I should probably get up and then realizing I wasn't wearing anything on my upper body. That was probably why my boobs hurt.

Feeling I had to do something to break the silence, I managed an "ouch", but it sounded muffled and twisted leaving my swollen lips.

Someone let the air out of their lungs with a _whoosh _sound, as if my muttered word had broken some kind of spell.

"Do you know who that was?" Caleb's voice was hard as stone.

"That depends, am I in trouble if I say yes?"

A tense chuckle left the only one who was left by the door. Reid. Only he would find something like this fun. Stupid witch.

"Mel, you have some explaining to do."

"Whatever you say, mom!"

"Why don't you let her get up first?" Reid, that perverted idiot, he'd probably noticed the fact that I wasn't wearing a bra and figured if I rose, he'd get a live feed of my rack.

"That seems like a good idea," Pogue agreed, earning a mental glare from me.

"Hasn't anyone noticed I'm not wearing a shirt?" I shrieked – or tried, it didn't sound like a shriek.

Again with the chuckling – though it wasn't just Reid this time. "Oh, I think we all noticed."

"Ass," I muttered under my breath, turning my attention to Tyler. "Tyler, could you hand me the t-shirt on my bed? Please?"

Feet were moving and the next second the shirt came into my limited line of vision. I yanked it from his grip, and what followed was a lot of awkward squirming and Reid laughing his ass off at my pathetic tries to get the shirt on without flashing any of them. Reid wasn't alone with his laugh, all of them were laughing, the other three did at least have the courtesy to try and hide it.

It took me five minutes of embarrassment, but finally, I could get to my feet. Being met by my own reflection made chills run down my back; the lower part of my face was smudged in blood from my bruised nose, and my lips were cut in a straight line over the middle. Really attractive.

Pretending not to hear Caleb when he started to say something, I pushed past him and into the small bathroom, wetting a towel and drying of my face. When that was done I turned to face them.

"So, how come I'm the one supposed to explain myself when you so rudely pushed your way into my room?" I raised an eyebrow.

"We felt someone using, thought you were in danger," Pogue beat Caleb with the talking.

"You can feel that? He never told me that."

"What exactly did he tell you?"

I turned my gaze to Caleb, who was starting to look mean. "He told me that you had powers, that no one knows how they originated, he told me about the covenant, about you. He also told me that you can get addicted, and that that sucks. If you ask me, Chase is starting to look a little grey."

They were all showing some sort of thinking-face, Caleb and Pogue were both wrinkling their foreheads and looking at each other as if having a mental conversation. Tyler was staring disbelievingly at her – maybe not so much of a thinking-face – and Reid were pursing his lips and looking distant.

"Wait, weren't you blind yesterday?" Tyler's sudden outburst gained everyone's attention instantly.

I sighed and combed my fingers through my hair, searching for an explanation. It wasn't like I could tell them the truth! Or could I?

"Yeah, I was." I settled for that, easy and mysterious, probably raising more questions, but acting as if I didn't have the energy to answer them. "Did you want anything else?"

Reid was the first one with a smart comment. "Why would Chase tell you all this? It's not like he's in love with you or anything."

Staring challengingly at Reid, I asked, "How exactly do you now that? Maybe he fell for my sarcastic and bitchy persona?"

"You're not bitchy."

My gaze snapped towards Tyler, staring at him with a question in my eyes.

"I mean, you're honest, Mel. You're not exactly the type to sweeten your words, but you're not mean."

I couldn't help the soft smile that grew on my lips. "You're so sweet, Tyler. But trust me, I'm not a good girl. If I am, how come Reid's attracted to me?"

"Reid was into Sarah at first too."

"Dude!" Reid was sounding pissed.

Caleb sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Okay, back to business, how come Chase has told you all about us?"

I couldn't tell them the truth, I just couldn't. "That's for me to know and for you to find out, now leave; I'm tired of being questioned."

Caleb and Pogue exchanged another glance, then turned to leave. At the door, Caleb bent down and picked something up. A feather, I realized. Could that be…?

Chase had dug his fingers into my skin, slid something out from under it and had used it to stroke my face. I had tasted the blood. Could it have been a feather? From the tattoo?

The next time I looked up from my thoughts, I saw that they'd all left. The only one left in the room was Reid; still standing with one shoulder leaned against the doorpost. As I looked at him, he gave me his bad boy smile. "You're into me too, you know."

I smiled back at him, equally as cocky as the smile I got from him. "No, Reid." I paused and crossed my arms provokingly over my chest. "I'm _very_ into you." As I added the last part, I walked up to the door and started shutting it.

As I closed the door I could hear him chuckling, silently wondering why I couldn't be with him, and deciding that there really weren't any reason at all. I was so annoyingly attracted to him that it was literally hurting my body not to be with him. Why shouldn't I be with him then?

* * *

Another week passed. My face healed quickly and the Sons were always keeping an eye my way, trying their hardest to tolerate me even though they still hadn't figured me out yet. I was still a mystery. The only one who didn't look strained in my company was Tyler, but he tried his hardest to act like he didn't really want to be close to me. I'm guessing he didn't really have a choice what with Caleb lecturing him all the time.

It was Friday again, and me, Tammy and Lauren had decided to go to Nicky's. As by "coincidence" the Sons were there too, though I suspect that was Tammy's reason for wanting to go, what with it being her suggestion and all.

The girls instantly decided to join the Sons and Sarah and Kate, even though all except Kate looked nervous at my closing in. I couldn't help the half-smile that grew on my lips at their discomfort, sitting down on one of the extra chairs.

The conversation had died the same second they'd seen me, but Tammy with her bubbly personality soon gave it back its life. My attention was elsewhere though, over at the pool tables where Reid and Tyler usually hung out. They were there of course, but they looked as if they were ready to leave. Silently wondering what made them give up on pool so early, I saw Reid giving me a glance from the corner of his eye. An amused smile stretched on my lips and I turned my attention back to the table and my so-called friends.

They were talking about catching a movie the next day, Tammy bugging everyone to join in, but only managing to get smiles or maybes for answers. Her gaze turned to beg me, but I shook my head.

"Why not?" Tammy complained.

I gave her a secretive smile. "I have other plans." And here they come.

Reid's cologne teased my nose as he came to sit next to me, only a little too close. I was liking this. He was wearing his signature beanie and the fingerless gloves, a black half-sleeve and a pair of well worn light jeans. He looked just like the bad boy he was. Only a little while after he had sat down, I caught the eye of a cute guy a couple of tables away, gaining a nod against the dance floor. An upbeat song was playing in the speakers and I nodded slightly, getting up.

With my back towards Reid I shed my jacket, revealing the low back of the black dress I was wearing, letting him know I wasn't wearing a bra.

Did I mention I was in seduction-mode?

Reid let me dance with the other guy for a while, but when the song was through, I could yet again smell his cologne as he glared at the guy. When the next song started playing, it was his hands that were at my waist, pulling me close to him.

"Was that really necessary?" I asked him with faked disappointment.

"Do you honestly prefer that guy over me?" I could hear the mocking in his voice.

"I never said that." I mumbled in his ear as I turned to face him.

We were moving close to each other, the song gave us a rhythm that was somehow intimate. Reid was trying as hard as me to control his breathing. His heart was pounding against mine. It took all of me not to kiss him, not wanting to give him that yet. Reid on the other hand, had a hard time hiding his attraction.

"This is like the first time we met," I mumbled by his ear as we danced.

"Oh, you're going to run away from me again?" He sounded strained.

"Maybe. Or maybe we'll run away together this time?" Those words where the last thing I had the time to say before Reid grabbed my hand and dragged me after himself towards the door. He had the keys to Tyler's Hummer, and before I could catch my breath, he had lifted me up and dropped me in the passenger seat.

The drive back to Spencer went by so quickly I wondered how many laws he'd broken. When he'd managed to park he was out of the door in a few seconds, once again lifting me. This time he carried me all the way to my room, unlocked the door with a flash of his eyes, and when it closed behind him, he let me slide down the length of his body onto the floor.

Our eyes locked and I smiled. In the dead silence of my room, our breathing seemed to echo.

"You know, maybe you should ask a girl before you presume she'll sleep with you."

"You're not that type of girl, Mel. You wouldn't deny me." His voice was husky; dark.

"Are you sure about that, Reid? Maybe I just feel like sleeping?" I turned my back to him and stretched as I yawned. "Coming to think of it, I'm really tired."

I didn't notice him coming closer, but suddenly he was there, behind me, his fingers on my shoulders. "I'll just help you get dressed for bed then." His breath tickled the skin by my ear and I managed to keep from shuddering. The next second his lips were moving over my neck, his fingers slowly pushing the half-sleeves of my dress down over my arms, while I stood there, trying not to gasp. As the fabric slid over my chest I gasped.

Reid had gotten my arms out of the sleeves and had moved his hands to rest them on my naked hips. I could feel his eyes on me, as he stood so still I wondered if he remembered how to breathe.

The next thing I knew I was on my back on the bed. Reid's lips were smashing into mine as he finally kissed me. There was so much desire in that one kiss that all my walls crumbled and I let myself go. Reid' managed to shrug off his shirt while I unzipped his pants and pushed them down, some with my hands and some with my feet. He moved away to remove them completely and then yanked my dress off.

Then he was on top of me and was kissing me hungrily, and I was trying so hard to get closer to him that I almost tried to crawl into him. When he was just about to remove my panties, someone pushed the door open.

Gasping, I sat up so fast I managed to bang my forehead into Reid's and make him mutter a word that would much describe what he had been about to do. In the door stood Tammy and Lauren, who were staring at us with wide eyes.

"We were just… giving you your jacket. You forgot it. At Nicky's."

"Thanks. Just put it by the door."

Tammy dropped the coat and stared for a while, not really knowing what she was supposed to do.

"Tammy. Close the door. Please."

She nodded vaguely and backed away, forcing Lauren to pull the door closed behind them. In the silence of my room I could hear them whisper outside the door, getting quieter by the second as they moved away. My gaze went back to Reid, who was propped up on his elbows on the bed, staring at me with a smirk on his lips. He was entirely naked.

"When did you take of your underwear?" I couldn't help the confusion in my voice.

Reid chuckled and started to sit, pulling me closer to him. "I wasn't wearing any," he mumbled in my ear as he kissed the skin underneath it.

Ignoring him I pulled back, rising and locking the door. Before I got back in the bed I raised my eyebrows at him. "I'm not going to sleep with you, Reid."

Again with the smirk. "A second ago you were."

"I'm not in the mood anymore."

"A second ago you were."

"But now I'm not."

"Still."

"No. You're welcome to sleep in my bed if you want, but I am not having sex with you."

"Fine. But I sleep naked."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Do I have to spell it out to you? Y-E-S."

Giving a frustrated sigh I raised my arms in an equally frustrated gesture, before climbing in under the covers. Soon I was joined by Reid, as he cuddled himself up behind me.

"_REID!_" I shrieked as I felt my panties sliding down my legs.

"I'm not touching those," he mumbled in my ear.

"The fact that you know exactly what I'm talking about proves otherwise!" I sounded panicked.

"But I'm not _touching_ them."

Of course he wasn't. He was using his freaking magic!

Muttering about stupid horny boys and dumb magic, I was starting to drift away into sleep.

What I hadn't remembered was the dream.

Fuck.


	9. Chapter 8

So... Hello! It's been quite some time, hasn't it? And here comes my excuse, drum-roll please! *insert epic drum-roll here* I've gone to school! No shit, but seriously, this is my second to last year of... I guess the proper translation would be high school, and even that is about to end. Next year a couple of months from now I'll graduate and move on to college. I feel old. And then there's been work, there should be another drumroll here since I work at the very glamorous, wait for it... McDonald's! At least it's enough to hopefully cover an apartment for next year, though I'm not so sure of that since the prices in London are said to be very high! Yes, I am moving to London – if everything works out the way I want it to – and believe me, I can't wait to leave the boredom of Sweden behind. So, I've been studying, working and sleeping, but enough about me, I bet you want to read about the chaos of Mel and Reid's lives – well, the chaos to come *winkwink* ;) Here goes nothing...

* * *

Chapter 8  
Romance and hurt

A sigh left my lips as I slid back into a consciousness I wasn't sure I wanted. Instead of the warmth and protection that had lulled me to sleep, there was an emptiness against my back. Shivering slightly I opened my eyes, only to find the light spilling through the curtains. As I rose to lean on my elbows I indeed noticed that I was alone. Left cold and lonely when I'd expected a confrontation.

Not sure if this was good or bad I decided to go take a shower, surely that would help chase some of the tension from my back. And as I was just about to enter the common showers, my eyes stopped on a flash of long man and blond hair. My heart nearly stopped as I hovered by the door, not sure what to do. Should I call him? But what if he knew...? I couldn't answer his questions; I didn't have any answers either. Just the ones I'd made up myself.

A few seconds after that thought crossed my mind, he turned his face and met my gaze. Something unfamiliar crossed his features before he turned away and headed in the opposite direction. What the...? Frown in place I headed for the showers and as the hot water ran down my body my thoughts wondered.

Something important had changed. Of that I was certain. But what? Could he have recognized me from the dream? But that didn't seem to be it. In that case, shouldn't he have at least fallen to my feet and claimed his infinite love to me? Rolling my eyes, I brought back the memory of the look on his face just now. He had always looked at me with desire and passion, even want and longing at some points, but this... It was completely different. His lips hadn't been close to a smile nor had his eyes had their usual gleam. Instead he'd almost looked concerned. But why the heck would he be concerned? It didn't make sense.

Growling from frustration I started drying my skin with a vengeance. I'd finally decided to take the chance with the guy and now he'd crept out of bed with me while I was in it, naked, and he didn't have the guts to face me. It almost seemed like he avoided me, but why would he do that?

Gosh, boys! Who needed them anyway?!

You need Reid, dumbass, he's the only reason you're alive and the only person who can keep you put together. Without him you would fall apart and eventually fade into nothing. You'd exist just like in the dream and what could be better than that?!

Snarling foul words to the sarcastic voice that was – unfortunately – right, she dressed and exited the bathroom to make her way back to her dorm room. However the door was ajar. Falling into a confident stride she slammed the door open to find her room... empty. Nothing out of the ordinary.

The lights flickered off suddenly and the door closed with a slight thud before the lock twisted.

Standing absolutely still, I felt movement behind me, and just like I would in any other situation I twisted around only to find myself face to face with...

… Reid. Who else?

"Don't scream," he mumbled as his hand shot out and caught my waist, pulling me toward him with a jerking movement.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Candle flames flickered and cast a soft light over my desk, to show something I had never expected from him. A buffet of breakfast dishes stood neatly placed over the wooden surface, interrupted at places with the flicker of a low flame. What...?

"I wanted to surprise you, but you almost screwed it up in the hallway," he pouted, the flirty sound of his voice making the butterflies in my stomach stir.

"I'd never thought you could do something like this," I mumbled, applying the same flirt in my own voice. "I never took you for the breakfast in bed type..."

"Oh, I'm not, but it seems to take a little more effort to get inside you, than anyone I've ever had," his voice was muffled as he talked with his lips attached to the skin under my ear. My breath hitched in my throat at the romance this moment had, even if his choice of words wasn't the nicest, this was him, and for him to find me worth the effort of this... It was amazing, Reid was such a sucker. "So, considering what I've done for you..."

Seeing just were that sentence was heading, I rolled my eyes and put a finger to his mouth. "Don't ruin it, sweetheart, I haven't had breakfast yet, and I sure am hungry."

"Oh, I've got something for you to eat, right here." This seduction technique was getting him nowhere. Shaking my head at him I broke free from his grasp and went to the desk to pop a strawberry in my mouth.

"You know, I prefer raspberry, I bet it would taste good on you."

Scoffing I picked one of the bubbly berries up only to turn and throw it at him, he caught it, of course, before he propped it into his mouth.

Digging into one of the pancakes, I asked him, "What do you usually do for fun?" He smirked and was just about to answer, but I quickly swallowed and interrupted him by putting up a finger in his general direction. "Let me guess, you flirt, screw and Use."

Rolling his eyes, he grabbed my arms and pulled me from the chair I had sat down on, only to swing me around, sit down himself and guide me onto his lap. "This is much better," he breathed, smirking his usual smile. "And I can assure you, there are some awesome things that can be done while Using." He winked, before he grabbed a handful of berries and one by one he ate them, in a manner made to seduce.

"Oh, really, like what?"

Chuckling, he reached up to stroke a curl behind my ear. "I'll show you, but first, you'd better eat up!"

Giving him a genuine smile, I complied, and he didn't say anything else until we had stuffed ourselves full of the delicious food, then he rose, me still in his arms, and slowly let me put my feet back on the floor.

"You should change." Smiling, he headed to my closet to rummage through my stuff. Grabbing a pair of black jeans, a black and white printed t-shirt and a knitted black cardigan, he threw them at me and had the decency to turn his back as I changed into said garments. However, I can't say he didn't peek.

"Throw me a pair of socks, will ya," I smiled, catching them as he indeed threw them at me, pulling them, along with my black Doctor Marten's, on, I was ready to go.

"You look hot as hell," Reid purred, coming forward to yet again grab my waist, kissing me hard on the lips. Distracted by the intensity of the kiss, I didn't notice the change in my surroundings until I stood on a dead field. Looking around wide eyed, I waited for the illusion to fade. It didn't. "Wait for it, it only gets better." His eyes black, Reid stared at me, a slight frown of concentration on his face, and as his eyes regained their light blue color, mine, if possible, grew even wider.

No longer brown and dry, the grass reached our knees, swinging in a slight breeze that hadn't been there before. Purple and red flowers mixed themselves with the green, occasionally interrupted by specs of yellow. It was breathtaking, and it had only taken him minutes to create. It was like something out of a dream and I didn't really know how to behave around it. I'd never seen anything nearly as beautiful as this.

Having been so busy viewing my surroundings, I hadn't noted Reid sitting down, and I didn't until I heard the clicks of a camera. Frowning I turned to face him, only to see the smug smile on his face.

"What are you doing?" I asked, making my way over to him.

"I'm savoring the moment of utter amazement on your face, clearly it is from my awesomeness and well, I needed something to hold against you." He winked.

"Hold against me?" I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, 'cause I bet you're going to deny the perfection of this date, so I'm sampling evidence." He went back to look at me through the camera lens, twisting the objective to take pictures of the same facial expression from all ranges.

Smiling at him, I walked up to him, going down on all four over his lean body, raising an eyebrow at him. "You want to get that out of my face so I can kiss you senseless?"

The camera vanished instantly, and he leaned in to meet my lips as I slowly closed my eyes. It started out as a soft touch; just a whisper of intimacy, but it was a perfect whisper. In that one moment, it felt like all my dreams came true on the spot; a beautiful man, a fairytale-esc surrounding, and the feeling of being cherished. A soft click could be heard to my right and I smiled as I realized the camera were flouting in the air beside us.

Reid rose a little from his careless position, and one after the other his hands stroke my cheeks in a way that was so out of character for the bad boy that it made it all so much more perfect. This was heaven.

A slow rhythm snuck its way into the kiss and soon I found myself draped on top of him, savoring every second of it all.

"You know, I wouldn't have pegged you for a romantic," I mumbled, not getting up from my place on his chest. It felt like I had been born to lay just there, perfectly draped over him, and since I had, that thought didn't feel all that romantic.

"I'm not." And that answer just made this moment even more special.

* * *

I hadn't seen Reid after the day we'd spent on the field, just laughing and enjoying the beauty of it. It was Monday and I was walking through the hallway on my way to my first class when I caught sight of Reid and Tyler's backs, just a few steps ahead of me.

I was just about to call out to them, when I heard their words.

"You know, I think I've seen her before," Reid muttered, a hand running through his hair.

"What? Where?"

"This is gonna sound way stupid, and you can't laugh, but I think she's the girl I've been dreaming of for weeks now."

Tyler didn't answer him, but I could imagine the stunned look on his face.

"I know, it's seriously messed up," Reid scoffed, scratching his chin.

"No, it kind of makes sense, doesn't it? She's involved with Chase, and we know there is something weird going on with her, what with her going from seeing, to blind and back again. It just doesn't make sense, you know. But since she can do all that, couldn't she be able to sneak her way into your dreams too?"

"Probably," Reid agreed, "but I just don't think she'd do that willingly... those dreams... she's dead in them, and who would make another person dream of themselves dead? That's just weird."

"Sure it is, but wouldn't it make you even more eager to fall for her tricks?"

Reid seemed to ponder the thought, and I held my breath, waiting for his answer. Did he really think I'd do that to him? Trick him into trusting me? Maybe that had been my intent, but not anymore. All of my heart was in this.

The next movement on his part almost broke my heart. He nodded. He actually nodded. Agreed to the fact that I was tricking him into falling for me. How could he?!

My legs stopped moving by themselves, and I practically fell against the lockers, a hand covering my mouth to stop the hurt from spilling out. I could almost hear Chase's laugh in my ears, mocking me for being stupid enough to actually ponder committing to the player. This was too much. How could he even consider that after the day we'd spent together.

And that dream... That stupid dream had ruined it all.


	10. Chapter 9

Well, hello again! Sure feels good to see the stats spiking again, and I'm very grateful for ya'll's commitment to this story! Wow, it warms my heart a little! Since this is somewhat of a restart to this story (having not written on it for like forever) I would like to know how many chapters you want out of it? Would you be interested in a sequel when this is to end? And in that case, should I write about one of the other boys – say Tyler – while seeming together Reid and Mel's story? The end to this one is probably the only thing I'm certain on and that will hopefully draw a tear to your eye ;) Please leave me a comment with your thoughts, it would be really helpful right now!

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Chapter 9  
Embarrassment and_ relief_

The day seemed to be moving along in slow motion, the lessons about thrice as long. It was right at the start of fourth period, which was history, and it was the one I was having alongside Reid. Yay.

I was sitting next to Tammy and Lauren, who were chatting away about the movie they'd seen this Saturday, as Reid and Tyler entered the room. I didn't even look up at them, but I still knew just were in the room they were and where they were heading. Tammy and Lauren's faces shifted to something that looked quite comical as I felt Reid coming closer. Sure enough the guy sitting in the seat on my other side found some reason to leave his chair and the smell of cologne and chlorine filled my nose.

"Hello, Mel," his voice drawled as he slung one of his arms around my shoulders.

I prided myself in not giving him a verbal answer and just kind of waved in his general direction, as I kept my gaze on the girls. "So?" I asked, to prompt them to continue with the gossip they were handing out like candy, feeling Reid's arm stiffen around my shoulders. I couldn't help the small smile that grazed my lips.

As the girls chatted on and I lost interest in the matter, I could feel Reid lean in closer to me. "You mad?"

I didn't even look at him as I shook my head. Instead I fastened my eyes on the blackboard and the teacher who was trying to get the pupils attention – it was, however, a lost cause. I could almost feel Reid roll his eyes as he turned to his friend and struck up some conversation they'd probably had going on before I got in the way.

It wasn't until now I snuck a look at the handsome guy sitting next to me. He looked just as usual; completely flawless with his uniform in a slight disarray, the top buttons of his shirt unfastened, his sleeves rolled up, his pants low on his hips. It wasn't so hard to fall for this guy; he was the bad boy that every girl dreamed of, the one that she wanted to be nice just for her, to prove his love on a higher level. Reid wasn't the type to be "cured" though, and that was one of the things I liked about him.

Tyler noticed me looking at the other boy and raised an eyebrow at me, making me roll my eyes and Reid to look at me. He in turn raised an eyebrow and look about to snarl something at me when the teacher finally got the attention of the class and the chatter died down. Giving him a winning smile I put my elbows at the desk and rested my chin in them, to listen on the lecture that was to come. It wasn't interesting at any level, and seeing as I didn't need this knowledge, I took a nap.

It wasn't until the bell chimed and Reid's hand shifted to hold on to my waist that I woke up, hissing at the sensation of his fingers grazing my skin. Being ticklish is a curse.

He chuckled at my side, keeping me in my seat as the people fled the classroom, Lauren and Tammy hesitating in the doorway, only to be dragged out of the room by Tyler, who obviously thought himself helpful.

"Why are you mad?" Reid's low voice caught me off guard as his stomach slid into my line of vision. Looking up to meet his gaze, I noticed he'd placed himself in a manner that cut off my escape routes; one leg off either side of me, butt on desk. Once again, yay!

"I didn't know you dream of me, Reid," I said, hitting him where he didn't expect to be hit. A smile twisted my lips as I saw the confusion on his face and how realization slowly dawned.

"Seriously? I thought girls wanted their boyfriends to dream of them?"

"Boyfriend?"

"Yeah, I'm your boyfriend." The "duh" at the end wasn't needed.

"No, you're not?"

"I'm not?"

"No."

"So you just let any guy sleep in your bed naked, serve you breakfast in bed and take you on epic dates?"

Rolling my eyes, I got up from my seat, grabbing my bag and made an effort to step over his leg. However he raised it so that I was straddling it. Hello butterflies, you perverted shitheads.

We didn't say anything of a few seconds, I just stood there awkwardly while I felt his smirk at my back.

"Please, lower your leg." Curse the breathlessness of my voice.

"You sure you want me to?"

I had to swallow. "Yes."

Excruciatingly slowly he lowered his legs, making sure to slide it along my thighs. I held my breath until the torture was over, then I drew a deep one and sprinted for the door. Or, rather, tried to sprint to the door. Reid caught me around the waist and pulled me back between his legs.

"What are you-?"

He twisted me around with a jerk and his lips crushed into mine, interrupting my words. A couple of seconds later I couldn't understand why I had tried to run, instead, I found an urge to stick my fingers in his hair, and so I did, feeling the softness of the tendrils as they tickled my fingers. I had to shift to stand on my tiptoes as he slid down from the desk, until he reached down and grabbed me around my thighs, making a moan escape my lips, and after the a blush to cover my cheeks. I felt his smile against my lips before he lifted me up and I put my legs around his lips. This time it was his turn to moan.

Before long he had put me down on the desk, and the situation was starting to get out of hand. I knew I shouldn't let him touch me like this, but I couldn't stop him. Some kind of madness was pushing me to go through with it, to get closer to him and to never stop.

As the door was shoved open and a gasp could be heard, all I felt was relief.

Muttering to myself I managed to shove Reid off of me, and made a beeline for the door. The girl that had stepped in on us looked flushed, but that was all I gathered from her before I exited the classroom and ran for the nearest exit.

I never made it that far.

About ten feet from it I felt something smash into me, and I froze. Touching the back of my head, there was nothing out of the ordinary. But there had been an impact. Shrugging it off, I stayed still to catch my breath, putting one hand to the wall to steady myself. It took my a couple of seconds, but when I was able to breathe normally again, I rolled my eyes at myself. Why had I run? That was just pathetic. I should have held my head high, smirked at the chick and left in style. That was what I would have done had it been anywhere else. But obviously I hadn't.

Chuckling to myself I let go of the wall and started to move back towards the cafeteria. But as I'd taken three steps that same feeling of impact returned and something seemed to buzz in my ears. As the buzzing got louder and louder my balance went off. Staggering as I tried to regain it, my vision blurred. But I could still see the thin legs moving closer hesitantly. Clad in jeans and converse, they hurried closer as I was about to hit the floor, catching me a foot from it.

"Just relax, Melanie, it'll make it easier."

As those words were whispered by a muffled voice, I felt the finality of the blackness surround me. Taking one last shaky breath, I let go of what little control I had and went with it.

* * *

Excruciating pain tore through me and jerked me from the peacefulness. Gasping in pain and opening my eyes to their limit, I was assaulted by light and awareness.

As the first sensation gave way to another, I managed to let a scream out. Fighting to get back in control of my own body, I found that I was chained by the wrists to the opposite sides of the room, my feet glued to the floor. My arms were spread wide, giving me no room to move or escape the pain. Then I noticed the small table at my side, just out of reach for my hips. It was covered in tweezers of different kinds, long, thin, thick, small, bent and sharpened to the point they almost looked like needles. The next thing I noticed was that I was topless.

"What the heck?"

"Oh, you're awake."

"No shit. What clued you in, my screaming or my cursing?"

There wasn't an answer, instead, she put a finger to my back and pressed. The pain returned and I gasped again, almost screaming but just as I was about to, she removed her finger and the pain reseeded. Breathing in heavily I turned my gaze to the tweezers again.

"What's with the tweezers? You gonna pluck my backhair out?"

There was a slight chuckle and a slim hand reached out to move over the silver instruments, before it stopped over one of the thinner ones. "No. They're going to help me kill you."

My breath stopped as I pondered it, but no, I was bound to Chase and Reid so how could she kill me without killing one of them? And with a pair of tweezers no less. "You can't kill me," I stated, confident I was right.

Again with the chuckling. "Sure I can. You're all the same, confident you can't be killed, until you are. Let me tell you, Melanie, that there is a reason why you are Marked." She tapped my back with the tweezers. "It's because you've been dead." She paused for effect and I almost felt like gasping in mock, I held it in though. "You probably died a couple of years ago and Chases witchcraft keeps you from remembering the life you had so that he can use you for his own purpose. That's unnatural though, and someone has to keep things in order. Seeing as you have this Mark right here," she tapped my back again, "you are easy to find and, well, honestly, quite easy to kill. If you know what you're doing. I should warn you though, it can be quite painful."

With that said, I could again feel the chill of the tweezers on my back, only this time she shifted them so that the sharp tip rested against my skin, before she pushed. The needles cut into my skin, making a slight move before she jerked them out, and as she did, I felt something pop free from inside my body and slide with them, slowly. Pain seized me and I yelped, unable to keep it in. As the sensation stopped a bloody feather landed on the floor in front of me.

And I figured it out.

She was talking about a mark. I only had one thing that could be anything like that and that was the tattoo, which she was currently digging in. It was a pair of wings, right, and so they had feathers. Chase had done the exact same thing. Only not in this scale.

Hours passed while she again and again pierced my skin, pulling at the feathers that I'd just thought was decoration but that obviously was substantial. I'd screamed my throat raw, my eyes were full with tears and I could feel my body growing weaker and weaker with every feather she plucked. When the light from outside had faded she had lit candles, and they had burned down about an inch.

"You'll soon be free, Melanie, there's only three feathers left."

"Awesome," I snarled through clenched teeth.

I had long since given up on trying to get loose and on being saved. Chase didn't care, so much I'd figured, maybe he was waiting on Reid to understand I was gone and come looking. Tough luck, the boys had some sort of club meet and were competing each other, which would keep them occupied for a couple of hours after school. Reid wouldn't have spent a thought on me since lunch, and since I didn't feel comfortable around water I wouldn't have shown on that meet anyway.

Tammy and Lauren would be at the meet and so excited they wouldn't even remember their own names. They'd probably fainted already from the muscled bodies moving in a way that could be quite... suggesting.

A hiss escaped my lips as the tweezers again pierced my skin, this time making my knees give in. I didn't move as much as an inch, but I could still feel it, all of my control was slipping and I wasn't going to last for much longer.

"Two more," she said in a singsongy voice, almost teasing me with the fact that my life was slipping out from between my fingers.

When she pulled the next feather out I sobbed, my tears mixing with the blood as they hit the floor. My entire body was shaking, my head lolling forward as a floating sensation hit me.

Feeling like I was in a dream, my body soaring high up, music filling my ears, mixed with laughter. I felt at peace, and it was the best feeling I'd ever felt.

Somewhere far away I could hear yelling and explosions, and my soaring was interrupted as someone tried to ground me, a deep voice mumbling in my ear.

Nothing could break the spell I was in however, and I stared with wonder at the feathers suspended in the air before me.

One.

Two.

_Three..._


	11. Chapter 10

**Hey! It's been a while again, and I'm sorry, I just haven't had the energy and right now, school has to be prioritized. **

**But my junior year (I think it translates to that in the american system, it's year two out of three in the swedish "gymnasium") is almost over - only four days of school left! Then it's time for senior year and that's when shit goes down, so to say. **

**Well, next chapter - yay! - and also, I have a little note to direct you to my first - "published" - original story, which has a lot of references to this story, however it's translated into my own take - leaving out the magic, unfortunately - with my own characters and ideas. But I think you'll find that there are some of Reid and some of Mel present, or at least their traits! Go check it out, why don't you? ;) **

(it won't let me give the complete link, but it's on wattpad, just enter the site and search my username: kimiiehkitty - alternatively enter the story's name: The Troublemaker)

**On with the story! This is sort of a filler chapter, but I think it has some Mel/Reid adorableness - if that wasn't a word before, it is now - and hopefully you'll like it! ;)**

**xx**

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Chapter 10  
_Misty landscapes and grabby boys_

When I woke up I was surrounded by mist. It covered me like a heavy comforter, swallowing everything in a soft, pleasant glow. It was somehow relaxing, but right this second I couldn't care less.

The image of the three feathers had burned itself to my vision and no amount of blinking could get rid of it. I desperately wanted to find out where I was, because, let's face it, this couldn't be the afterlife, could it? Well, all the white and the constant glowing would suggest so. Seriously, Mel, get a grip, you can't be dead! Oh, and where's your shirt?

Getting up slowly the mist sort of folded itself around my body, and if I remained on my knees it covered my boobs - that's one problem less. Next problem was that I couldn't walk around, unless I crawled. And never was I ever going to crawl around anywhere.

With a sigh I got to my feet and immediately regretted it.

"Well, well, look who it is."

"Shut up, idiot."

"Nice rack," Reid smirked, his eyes lingering on my boobs.

Quickly covering them by crossing my arms - knowing I practically shoved them up in his face - I glared at him. "Thank you. Where the hell am I and why the heck are you here?"

The smirk never faltered. "Heaven, baby, and obviously you find me so sexy you just had to dream me up. You just couldn't die without finally letting me fuc-"

"Stop it right there, moron," I hissed, on the verge of slapping him. But if I did that, of course, I'd have to let my boobs go. "This isn't a time for any funny business."

"I think it's the perfect time, really." He strode towards me, nonchalantly, his hands deep in his pockets. I caught a whiff of his scent and I couldn't keep the goosebumps from rising on my arms. His smirk seemed to seep into his eyes, meaning the power of three smirks were now in my face. Dear God, why? "You're already halfway there, aren't you?" His eyes shifted to my cleavage and he raised an eyebrow. "Drop your arms."

"Don't try to order me around, Garwin, I'm not your pet."

"Hm..." His eyes shifted to meet mine briefly, before dropping to rest on my lips.

"Don't you dare."

"Drop your arms."

"Fuck off."

He moved so quickly I didn't have any time to react. His lips crashed onto mine, craving a response I was all but dying to give. Our lips moved together in perfect harmony, his tongue violating my mouth, his hands moving down the lengths of my arms, grabbing my elbows and trying to pry my arms away from my chest. I almost let him, but my mind still seemed to be able to work with what little capacity it had left.

"Drop them," Reid breathed against my lips, and I swallowed harshly and shook my head.

"No."

"Please," he mumbled, his hands digging into my hair, travelling down my neck, over my bare shoulder blades, down my back and finally stopping in the small of it, tugging me harshly against his body. My arms were still in between us and his fingers started slowly caressing them again. "You show me yours, I'll show you mine."

I let out a breathy laugh, shaking my head slightly. "I might have, if I hadn't known how eager you'd be to come through."

"Oh, I'm so eager, babe, can't you feel it?"

I raised an eyebrow at him, making him smirk devilishly. "I'm pretty sure I can, mister."

"If you move your arms, you could be certain," he winked, earning an eyeroll. "Please, Mel, this might be your last chance."

After having handed out yet another eyeroll - my eyeballs were starting to hurt - I took a decent look around - and almost choked on my breath.

We were there! In the dream! How the heck could we be in the dream? This was so much unlike it, it shouldn't be possible! What was this really?

"Why are we here? This isn't right," I whispered, a slight waver to my voice.

"I don't know, it's kind of- Hold on, you know this place?" His eyes were on the verge of popping out of his skull. When I didn't answer him, he continued. "Have you had that dream too, Mel?"

Releasing my breath I met his gaze and nodded slightly, my teeth in my lip. If I was going to die, I might as well fess up.

To my shock, Reid didn't start to accuse me of being a manipulative bitch or anything, instead he just looked at me, before his lips yet again crashed into mine. This time he wasn't as forceful - he was almost relieved - and his arms didn't try to pry mine away from my chest, instead they cradled my head.

This sudden gentleness, passion, or whatever sort of feeling it was, was so new to me - especially since it came from Reid Garwin - that I lost every train of thought. My hands gently cradled his chest, feeling the rapid beat of his heart against my palm.

"I want you," he mumbled against my mouth, effectively breaking the trance.

Groaning, I tried to step away from him, but he wouldn't let me. His hands grabbed my waist and he pulled me even closer to him, squashing my hands between us. "No, Reid, I don't feel like it."

"You're panting," he pointed out.

"So what if I'm panting, there's a time and a place for everything, and this is neither!"

Reid groaned and frowned, giving the impression he had given up. But then his eyes lit up mischievously and his signature smirk was back in place. "Can I atleast touch them?" he asked, giving my boobs an indication.

I gaped at him, flustered. After a couple of minutes - and him staring at said place - I realized he wasn't going to give up and I just shrugged, letting my arms drop to my sides. His eyes lit up as a child on christmas and his smirk deepened as he let his hands wander up my body - one after the other - until his fingertips gently grazed my skin. It was almost a tickling sensation and I was on the verge of gasping, until his hands grew more demanding.

After he had fondled my chest for a couple of minutes I sighed and tried to break the spell.

"Why are we here?"

His eyes met mine, but his hands didn't move. "Well, you're unconscious and I am sleeping, so I guess we just sort of met halfway." He shrugged.

"Okay, then how do we get out of here?"

Another shrug.

"Reid."

"What?"

"Get your mind out of the gutter and try to help figure this out." He pouted. Reid Garwin actually pouted. My heart started racing, and from the grin on his face, he noticed.

"If I get you into your own body, or whatever, will you sleep with me?"

This guy... I rolled my eyes but nodded, not having the energy to argue with him.

The smile that flashed on his lips was priceless, making me almost want to repeat this conversation - it was adorable - and looking down on his hands, he sighed and reluctantly moved them. His eyes were still trained on my chest, however.

"It's a shame to let this opportunity go to waste, but it's for a good cause." He winked at me and stepped back, giving me a once over. "I'll get the guys to help fix this. See you in no time."

He gave me another smile and then he was gone.

Swallowed by the mist.


End file.
